Through The Purple Forest
by Moo Moo Cow The Writer
Summary: When Prince Edmund goes missing, Leona's family is accused. She and her siblings escape capture, but, now they must find the obnoxious prince and set everything right. A past event is awakened. Love and betrayal are in the air. Time is not on their side.
1. Prologue: The Burning

Through The Purple Forest

Genre: Adventure/Romance/Family

Disclaimer: The characters and the plot are mine.

Comment: Yeah. The prologue is probably going to be confusing. xD But, it'll make sense in the end. Not much to say here besides that I'm finally getting this story out, after all this planning. ^^ Hope you enjoy!

**PROLOGUE**

Sean was cold. Sean was wet. Sean was horribly frightened. He shivered into the basket he was hiding in. His father had left him, an eight year old, to fend for him self while he ran away. Sean just knew that was what his father did.

A scream broke out, making Sean jump a bit in surprise. He hoped the scream was just someone being mugged or attacked by a stray dog. _Anything _other than what he had been running from all night.

"W-What is _that?_" a woman yelled.

"It's a dragon!" someone else shouted. Next, Sean felt heat from his left. The dragon had set the building near him a flame. Besides the constant fear nipping at him, the warmth felt nice; it was a cold winter night, especially after diving into the lake with his father. He knew the village would be burned down in less than an hour. He needed to leave, _now. _But, where would he go?

Another scream and Sean was sure the basket was on fire now. He jumped out in a second, looking at his side to make sure he wasn't on fire, and then ran for it. He pushed past people in panic and ran straight for the woods. It wasn't the safest place he could go; actually, in his situation, it was most likely suicide. But, dying in that forest was better than becoming cooked.

Even as branches slapped his cheeks and he could taste blood, Sean kept on running. As he ran, he began to think about his father. Where was he? Was he alright? Did they get him? They couldn't have gotten him, his father was much faster than him, plus he got a head start. He must be okay... right?

Sean barely remembered early evening. It felt so long ago, yet, only a couple of hours had gone by since then. His father had woken Sean only after a few minutes of sleep. He told Sean they had to leave quickly. Sean did as he was told, only grabbing a few things his father instructed. They ran from their home to into the forest. The Purple Forest. That was the first time Sean had stepped into that forest. It wasn't dangerous, so he heard, but, his father had never let him go in. Until now.

About ten minutes after they left their house, Sean could see a bright light behind them. He wondered what it could have been, but, it hit him as the smell of smoke drifted into the air. His village was on fire. He started to ask his father what was happening, but, he just shushed the eight year old. For the next few hours, Sean and his father had been to two other villages, only to run into the woods again. Sean has caught glimpses of the dragon and a couple of other mythical creatures, such as ogres, goblins, and pixies; which are pretty painful if they touch skin.

Then, the last village his father had instructed him to stay in a basket that someone must have left outside by mistake. He never came back. Sean waited and waited and waited for his father to come back to get him. Finally, he gave up waiting and just sat there so maybe he could get some sleep after a long night. But, the basket wasn't too comfortable and then the dragon came.

After running a few minutes, his side started to hurt. This has happened all night, since, he normally didn't run this much. He stopped and leaned on a tree for support. That was when the exhaustion hit him like a carriage. His muscles hurt like hell and he could barely keep his eyes open. Slowly, very slowly, Sean slide down the tree, finally landing on his butt. As soon as he hit the ground, he was fast asleep.

He dreamt of his home, his bed, his mother. Oh, how he missed her. Her soft touch. Her welcoming hugs. Her reassuring smile. Why did she have to go and die at a time like this? A time where he needed her most. Just as she was embracing him, a noise woke him. He had always been a light sleeper, but, he wanted nothing more then to go back into his dream. Where he was safe, warm, and with his dear mama.

His eyes opened slowly to some bushes rustling. He wanted to run again, but, his body wouldn't move. This is it, he thought. At least I'll be with mama again. Sean watched as the thing in the bushes emerged and it was... a rabbit. Sean let out a soft, tired laugh; _that _was what he was so scared of? The rabbit stared up at Sean with big eyes, scared, but, at the same time relived.

Suddenly, a scream broke the silence around Sean and the rabbit, who, took off. Sean stumbled to stand up, recognizing the scream. The man sounded in pain. And, his voice was just like... his father's. Sean doesn't know where he found the energy but he started to run. He didn't feel the pain anymore, his mind was only on his father and who was making him hurt. Even if his father did ditch him, he was the only family had left.

Finally, Sean came to a clearing. It was still dark out, but, Sean could see movement near the edge of the clearing to his right. He also heard the screams. He began to run to his father's aid, but then stopped dead in his tracks. Someone, or some_thing, _was on his father. Hurting him. And, it was _huge_. Sean quickly grabbed a knife from his boots; something his father had told him to pack.

Sean walked quietly and slowly up to the thing, trembling. The screams of his father echoed in his ears, wanting to make the thing in front of him pay but also to run far away from here. To somewhere safe. Once Sean was about a meter away from the monster, he ran at high speeds and stuck it in the neck. The monster let out a ear piercing holler. It whipped around to sneer at Sean and then knocked him to his feet with it's large hands. That's when Sean saw that it was an ogre.

Sean didn't remember much what happened next, just that the ogre punched him in the chest and then tried to rip off one of his legs by his ankle. His father took this opportunity to grab the knife, that was still lodged in the fat of the ogre's neck, and started stabbing at his neck again. And again. And again. Most of the blood poured on to Sean. Sean was in a daze as his father tried to pull him out from under the dead ogre.

After what felt like too long, Sean was able to breath again. His chest hurt and he couldn't stand on his left leg, but, at least the ogre was off of him.

"Sean..." his father spoke. It sounded horse; the ogre probably choked him. Sean finally looked up at his father. Even in the dark, his father look to be in bad shape. His father fell down on to the ground, then he leaned on his left arm to support him enough to look at Sean through the darkness.

"Sean... go to the bushes over there... and give me the staff..." his father commanded, pointing to the bushes in front of him. Sean limped to where his father pointed and picked up the wooden, glowing staff. Sean was pretty sure this staff was the cause of all this, but, his father, of course, said nothing on this matter. Sean slumped down next to his father and handed him his staff.

His father gripped it hard against his chest for a few seconds, then started coughing hard. Sean sat there, waiting for his father's next instructions. The next few minutes went by with his father saying nothing, only coughing. And, when he did stop, he still said nothing. Finally, Sean whispered in the darkness.

"What do we do now?" he asked. His father let out something similar to a sad sigh. Then, silence again.

"Father-"

"Sean..." Sean jumped at the sound. "Take the staff..." Sean was surprised by this. His father had hung on to that staff as if his life depended on it. But, when his father extended his hand to give him the staff, Sean took it quickly.

"But, what do I-"

"Sean... take the staff... and run. Run to... the next village. Do not... turn back," his father commanded.

"But what about you?" Sean shouted. He couldn't leave his father here alone; hurt, defenseless, and weak. There was just no way he could leave his father... his only family left. Sean didn't know if he could take losing another parent.

"Do not worry... about me. But... do get revenge... Remember, these fairy creatures... took both your parents... lives." And, with that, his father slumped to the ground, gave a great cough and died. Sean's eyes widened and he got up fast, ready to run, only to fall back down from the pain in his ankle. He dropped the staff in the process.

Sean got up slowly this time, leaning on his right leg, and limped over to grab the staff and then left the clearing. His chest still hurt like hell and he was sure his left ankle was broken, but, his mind was set on what his father said. His mother was killed by one of these mythical creatures? But... everyone in the village said she died from a bear attacking her.

Sean's grip around the staff tightened. And now... those creatures had taken his father, too. He would get revenge, even if it killed him.

As the sun licked the sky, brightening the forest, Sean got to the village, a plan forming.

–

That's it for the prologue. :o Hope you enjoyed. Review please! :3 I'll give you a cookie. 3


	2. Chapter 1: Dinner

Through The Purple Forest

Genre: Adventure/Romance/Family

Disclaimer: The characters and the plot are mine.

Comment: Chapter one! :D Introducing some of the characters, most of them anyway. Thank you melti-chan for reviewing. :3

–

**CHAPTER ONE**

"Oh, he's _cute,_"exclaimed Amelia.

"He doesn't smile much," Juliet pointed out.

"I think the one that's standing is _much _cuter," Leona muttered.

"...He doesn't seem to smile much, either." Amelia, one of the maids, pressed her face closer to the crack of the door all three of them were looking through. They were trying to get a closer look at the Royal family, but, Amelia was now in Juliet's and Leona's way.

"Amelia!" Leona hissed. Amelia looked over at them and blushed.

"Sorry... But, this is probably my only chance to get a good look at them," she explained, though, she did back away from the door a little. The three girls again gazed at the family, each hoping to hear their conversation. At the head of the table was King Tobias. A very kind, noble king; he also seemed to be the only one smiling.

To his left was his wife, Queen Bernadette. A long necked, stern looking woman. Across from her was Princess Phaedra; a cute, thirteen year old brunette. She seemed rather depressed, only looking up to stare at her mother with her big, ocean blue eyes, then, looked down at her food again. Next to Princess Phaedra was Princess Cassandra, the Princess of a neighboring Kingdom. She had long, wavy, golden hair, dark green eyes, and an unamused look on her face- she was clearly not happy to be here.

At the other end of the table was Prince Edmund. His auburn hair was pulled back into a pony tail and his light blue eyes seemed as unhappy as Princess Cassandra's. Almost twenty, he will soon be King with his fiancée, Cassandra.

Next to King Tobias, standing, is Sir Knight Sean. Well known as the only surviver of the Burning that happened twenty-three years ago, Sir Sean had proposed to marry Princess Phaedra only a few weeks after the news of Prince Edmund's marriage had gone around the towns. Being handsome, a great fighter, and his popularity had made him a shoe in to get Princess Phaedra's hand. Though, it was rumored that Phaedra was unhappy with the proposal, for some crazy reason.

The room, which was transformed into a dinning area for the Royal family, was decorated in reds and golds. The china they were using was the best the Inn could offer, which, was pretty good. Everyone was eating; some duck, others deer. King Tobias seemed to be the only one talking, though, none of the girls could hear what he was saying.

"Amelia! Juliet! Leona!" All three of their heads snapped behind them to see the cook, Ms. Claire, coming towards them. Ms. Claire was a large woman, with her big, blond hair up in two buns on either side of her face. She had a big nose and small eyes; Claire always reminded Leona of a pig.

"Amelia, back to work! Juliet, your father is looking for you. And, you," Ms. Claire shoved a pitcher of water into Leona's hand. "Go refill their glasses instead of sitting around on your lazy bum." Leona huffed.

"I wasn't _sitting, _I was _standing,_" Leona remarked, though, she quickly walked into the dinning area before Claire could say or do anything to her. As Leona entered where the Royal family was, only King Tobias and Princess Phaedra looked in her direction.

"Wonderful! I was needing a refill. Bring it here, wench," King Tobias motioned Leona over and then picked his cup up for her to refill. She then looked around the table, getting a good look at everyone. Queen Bernadette was glaring down at her food, taking only small bites of her duck. Princess Phaedra was looking down at her hands, glancing up at Leona every once and a while; this made Leona feel a bit uncomfortable. Princess Cassandra was angrily cutting her meat. Prince Edmund seemed to be in his own little world.

As Leona was about to turn to observe Sir Sean, he was the cutest one out of them all after all, she heard a soft sound.

"Oh," Phaedra gasped quietly. Leona then saw that she had over filled King Tobias' glass. Leona quickly jerked it back, splashing the floor behind her.

"I'm so sorry!" Leona shrieked, grabbing a napkin off the table and dabbing it on the table. To her surprise, King Tobias just let out a slight chuckle.

"It's quite alright. Accidents happen," Tobias smiled. Leona felt relived that she didn't upset the king and then went about cleaning up the water.

"Thank yo-"

"Serving wench, hurry up with your mess and serve me some water. I'm getting impatient," Prince Edmund interrupted. Leona felt the need to glare at him, but, remembered that he was a prince and she didn't want to be disrespectful.

"Yes, your highness." Once she was finished with the spilled water in front of the King, she hurried over to the other end of the table.

Though, as she stepped into the water on the floor, she slipped. Leona lost her grip on the pitcher as she landed on the ground. The pitcher went flying up, landing between Prince Edmund and Princess Cassandra. Leona bite her lip as she scrambled up, only to fall down on her butt again. Cassandra let out a shriek and got out of her chair. With a huff, she picked up her dress and hurried out of the room, probably to where she would be sleeping for the night.

Leona looked up at Prince Edmund, wondering what he would do.

"I'm so sorr-"

"You pig filth of a baboon!" Prince Edmund yelled, slamming his glass down and wiping the water off of him, as if it was poison. The door opened and Juliet came running in, wondering what all the noise was about. Once seeing that Prince Edmund was soaked and that Princess Cassandra was gone, Juliet grabbed a towel from the kitchen briskly and then started drying him off.

"I'm so sorry for my sister, she hasn't been right since our mother died," Juliet said, glancing in Leona's direction. Leona got up slowly this time, then grabbed a napkin from the table and started to clean up the water on the floor. Prince Edmund glared at her.

"Why are you drying the ground before me, you halfwit?" Edmund questioned, still glaring at her. Leona bit her tongue and got up from the ground. She walked over to Prince Edmund and helped her sister with drying him. When they were done, Leona started cleaning the floor again. Prince Edmund left the room, going the same path as Princess Cassandra.

"Will you need anything else?" Juliet asked, sweetness, but also concern, in her voice. King Tobias rose, but, smiled.

"Just that our rooms are prepared for us to sleep," he answered. Juliet nodded.

"They are, your Highness."

"Wonderful." King Tobias helped Princess Phaedra out of her seat and waited until Queen Bernadette was also standing, then they all walked up the staircase, leading to their rooms. But, Sir Sean didn't go with them right away. He walked over to where Leona was, who had just finished cleaning up the water, and gave out his hand to help her up. Leona looked at the hand, next at Sir Sean, then back at the hand. Finally, she took it.

"Thank you," Leona said, blushing a bit.

"I am sorry for Prince Edmund's out burst. The long carriage ride must have gotten him cranky," Sean smirked. Leona nodded.

"He was very rude. It _was _an acciden-" Leona quickly snapped her mouth shut, remembering who she was talking to. Juliet was at Leona's side at once, tugging at her sleeve.

"Leona, father wants to see us right away," Juliet muttered in her ear. Leona looked back up at Sean to see him still smirking.

"I must be off as well. Lord Tobias wants me at Princess Phaedra's side every second," Sean said, bowing, then giving her a wink. Just then, Princess Phaedra emerged from the staircase. She glared over at where Leona was standing, which, surprised Leona.

"Sir Sean, father would like to see you," Phaedra said. Sean nodded at her and walked to her side. Phaedra's glare did not lighten up, but, it was now directed at Sean. Leona wondered if Princess Phaedra was jealous, which, she didn't understand why. Sean was just helping her- Phaedra was _marrying_ him. Leona concluded that the family was a very strange, rude butch.

–

Leona untied the purple ribbon that was in her hair, and then tied her dark brown hair back up again. This was a habit whenever she got nervous. She knew her father would be mad that she messed up the dinner everyone had been preparing for for months; ever since the news that Royal family would be staying at the Inn.

"How did he find out?" Leona asked, tempted to untie her hair again, but, she only tugged on the end of the ribbon. Juliet looked at Leona side ways and sighed.

"He heard the noise," she explained. "And, Ms. Claire might have mentioned something."

"Annoying tattletale," Leona muttered.

"Leona!" Juliet glared at her.

"Well, it's true!" Leona yelled back. Leona would have pointed out reasons why Ms. Claire was this and much more, but, she didn't feel like fighting with Juliet. She was tired and today had not been great. As they neared their father's door, Leona untied her hair again. Before she could tie it back up, Juliet grabbed her hand.

"That habit is getting annoying, either leave your hair up or down," Juliet commanded. Leona jerked her arm out of Juliet's grip.

"You are not my mother, so stop acting like you are," Leona shot back, then tied her hair up again. Leona knew Juliet meant well, but, sometimes she just went too over board. She may be three years her senior, but, she wasn't her mother. She didn't have the right to tell her what to do. They both missed their mom very much, dying after giving birth to their ten year old sister, Tabitha. But, sometimes, Leona thought Juliet had suffered the most. Juliet was the oldest out of the four kids, which meant she knew mother longest. This could explain why Juliet was trying to replace her.

Finally, they were at their father's door. Juliet knocked and then turned the door knob, but, the door swung open before she could push it open. Their father, Ignatius, was a tired looking man. With a five-o-clock shadow and shaggy dark brown hair, this made him look even older than he really was. But, to Leona, he seemed to have aged ten years since she saw him this morning.

"Come in, come in." He directed his daughters inside and then closed the door behind them. Ignatius glanced over at Leona and then dragged his hand down his face.

"What happened, Leona? Claire says she heard a scream and lots of yelling," her father sighed.

"Everything is fine! I just spilled some water... all over Prince Edmund and Princess Cassandra-"

"_What?_"

"But, everything is fine! King Tobias laughed it off," Leona explained, tugging on the end of her ribbon again, thinking about taking her hair down. Her father sighed again.

"Are you sure, Leona? Juliet, did you see what happened?" Ignatius asked. Juliet nodded.

"I came in when I heard Princess Cassandra scream. King Tobias didn't laugh, but, he did smile," Juliet answered. Ignatius looked relieved.

"Thank God," their father said happily.

"Can I go now?" Leona asked, yawning.

–

Leona groaned for the fourth time. As punishment for pouring water all over Princess Cassandra and Prince Edmund, she had to wash the dishes for tonight. Not so shocking, it was the cook's idea. Ms. Claire had always disliked Leona, or, it would seem. Truth be told, it was mostly because when she was six, she and her brother, Gavin, had let lose a bunch of pigs in the kitchen as a joke. Claire didn't think it was so funny. Ever since then, Claire had been ratting her out on every little thing she did wrong.

A loud crash broke Leona's thoughts. She looked up to see Gavin (speak of the devil) picking up a broken piece of glass. Good, less work for me, Leona thought.

"Good job," Leona said, sarcastically.

"I was trying to scare you," Gavin sighed.

"Well... you did not. You just killed some plates and probably woke everyone up," Leona joked. "So, how was working with the royal horses?" Gavin rolled his eyes.

"From what I heard about dinner, probably as snobby as their owners."

"And, what did you hear about dinner?"

"Just that you drowned Princess Cassandra and Prince Edmund. I also hear that this is your punishment." Gavin indicated the tube of water and dishes Leona had in it.

"Yes, well, you get in trouble all the time. I bet you even used magic to clean the barn today," Leona declared. Since their father wanted Gavin to take over the Inn when he died, he forbid Gavin to learn magic. Gavin, on the other hand, has been taking lessons for about a year now, in secret, as a local Warlock's apprentice whenever he had the time. The Warlock, Simon maybe (Leona was horrible with names), claims that Gavin has potential, but, he can barely do a simple spell.

But, Gavin changes him mind a lot. A few years back, he wanted to be a knight. Ignatius was sorta okay with that, thinking Juliet would find a guy to take over the Inn. But, Gavin gave up the thought after he heard a rumor about war. Last year, Gavin had brought up the idea of being a wizard, but, by that time, Juliet was engaged to the baker's son, so, their father had to say no.

Actually, Leona thought, Juliet is going to have her wedding soon. It was suppose to be only a few weeks after they had been engaged, but, her fiancé's father had grown ill and the family had to pack up to get the best medical attention they could find in another village. They should be back any day now.

"I should probably be getting to bed, good night. Also, good luck with all your dishes," Gavin smirked, waved, and disappeared out the door. Leona was all alone once again. And, now that she had stopped washing, she felt more tired than ever. She sighed and got back to work. About ten minutes later, Leona heard the door squeak open behind her.

"If that's you again, Gavin, I'm making you help me with these dishes," Leona said, scrubbing.

"_Excuse _me?" a voice behind her asked. Leona spun around to see Princess Cassandra standing at the door, in her night gown, hands on her hips.

"O-Oh. I'm sorry, your Highness. I thought you were my brother," Leona said, feeling embarrassed. But, she also felt annoyed. How was she to guess that one of the Royal family was to come into here?

"It's quite alright, now that I knowyou were not talking to me," Cassandra mused, walking by Leona and sitting on a stool. Princess Cassandra stared at Leona, as if waiting for something. Leona didn't understand, so, she just went back to washing. Finally, Cassandra let out a sigh. Leona looked up and saw Cassandra frowning at her.

"I came all this way down here, and you have not even asked me if I was hungry, which, I am," Cassandra said, quite annoyed. Leona's eyes darted around the room, wondering if this was a joke. Finally, her eyes rested on Cassandra's. Obviously, it wasn't. Leona fought the urge not to sigh and roll her eyes.

"What would you like, your Highness?" Leona asked, wiping her wet hands on her apron. Princess Cassandra shrugged.

"Maybe some bread? Actually, yes. I would like some bread." Leona grabbed a clean plate, went into the kitchen and grabbed a loaf of bread, and then came back and handed it to Cassandra.

"Yes, thank you," Cassandra said, breaking off a piece and then plopping it into her mouth. Leona went back to the dishes. She actually missed being alone now. The girls sat in silence for a few minutes, Cassandra eating and Leona cleaning. When Cassandra was done, she got up and placed the plate into Leona's dish water, then sat back down on the stool. Leona cursed in her head, realizing she had another dish to clean.

"Also, I forgive for spilling water on me. King Tobias insisted it was an accident," Cassandra said, staring up at Leona. Leona looked up, barely paying attention.

"O-Oh! Thank you very much, your Highness!" Leona said after a minute of silence. She didn't hear exactly what Cassandra said, but, the Princess seemed content with her answer.

"And, when I was finally dry, I did find it amusing that you splashed water on Prince Edmund. He has been getting on my nervous lately," Cassandra rambled. Leona shifted comfortability, not sure what to say. Finally, she decided to just nod.

"I know we're suppose to get married soon," Cassandra continued. "But, I have a feeling we won't be getting along. But, then again, I asked for this. I wanted an arranged marriage. My parents would have thrown a ball for me, but, I didn't want to dance around with all these peasant men, noble or not. I wanted to get married to a prince." Leona suddenly realized that she had no more dishes to wash. A second of happiness washed over her, happy to be done and she could now go to bed. Then she realized that Cassandra wouldn't like it very much if Leona suddenly walked off when she was talking. Leona sighed in her head. She was trapped here.

–

FINALLY. IT'S DONE. My god... this thing took four days to write! And, it's not even that long! I guess this is what happens when I haven't written anything in five months. . Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this. This was mostly just introducing the characters and explaining a few things about them. We'll get to the good part next chapter. :3 Review please! :D


	3. Chapter 2: Accused

Through The Purple Forest

Genre: Adventure/Romance/Family

Disclaimer: The characters and the plot are mine.

–

**CHAPTER TWO**

As the sun shone through the window, Leona felt her self awakening. After a few moments of deciding whether or not to get up, Leona finally choose to get up; Juliet would only get her up sooner than her liking anyway. Leona rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn. Two weeks since the incident with the Royal family, and she was still up late at night doing dishes. Only a few more days and she would be done.

As Leona grabbed her ribbon on her dresser next to the bed, she saw Tabitha, her younger sister, staring at her in the bed next to Leona's. Leona stared at her as well, putting up her hair in the process.

"What are you doing up so early?" Leona finally asked, giving her a smile.

"I couldn't sleep, your snoring kept me up all night." Tabitha giggled.

"I do not snore!" Leona then threw a pillow at Tabitha with a smirk. Tabby threw it back at her with a giggle.

"Yes, you do." Leona slipped out of bed and grabbed her working dress. Once she was dressed, she looked over at Tabitha. She was reading a book labeled _Griffins_.

Tabitha, Gavin, and their father are the only people in the family that are literate. Juliet knew a couple of words, but, only enough to recognize different plants. Their mother had tried to make sure all her children would be able to read and write, but, once she died, the kids had no one to teach them; their father was too depressed about losing his wife then. Gavin went to school for a few years and when Tabitha was about five, their father went to teaching her how to read and write. He had offered to teach Leona and Juliet, but, they had no real interest in it by then.

Tabitha was also the biggest reader out of anyone Leona knew. Though, Leona blamed this mostly on their father. Tabitha looks exactly alike their mother, and after losing his wife, Ignatius went to keeping a close eye on Tabitha, not having her work or anything. But, Tabby spends most of her time staying up in her room, reading about creatures that lie in the Purple Forest. Leona doesn't know how Tabitha stands it- it would drive her insane.

Just as Leona was making her way to the door, a knock came and Juliet peaked her head inside.

"Leona, Ms. Claire needs you to go the market and pick up some things," Juliet said, opening the door completely and walking inside. She looked down at Tabitha. "Haven't you read that book before?" Tabby looked up at her oldest sister.

"Yes, but, Griffins are just so _interesting _to read about." Juliet shrugged and looked back at Leona.

"Are you coming?" Leona sighed.

"Yes, yes."

–

Leona picked up an apple and examined it. It seemed okay, no dents or bruises on it. Leona picked out a few more that looked presentable as well, payed the merchant, and dropped the apples into her basket. Then, Leona mentally crossed off apples of the things Ms. Claire needs. Now, Leona just needs to remember what else Ms. Claire wanted.

Leona looked around the market. She always enjoyed going to the market, especially as a child. There were just so many different, interesting things that were sold here. From beautiful jewelry to colorful, handmade rugs to delicious foods. There were even entertainers sometimes on the sides of the market; which, personally, was the best part about the market. Yes, this was probably the only chore Leona didn't mind doing for Ms. Claire.

Unfortunately, the market was right next to the Wall. After the Burning that happened twenty-three years ago, King Tobias decided to put a large wall around each village to make sure they were safe. The only way in and out was through the gates, located east and west of Leona's village. Though, Leona thought this was rather pointless. A wall wasn't going to keep a dragon from flying over the small town and burning it down from the sky or a pack of goblins from climbing over the wall.

Also, the Wall prevented her from seeing the Purple Forest, which, she's never gotten to do.

When Leona went to the next merchant, she saw a pair of young girls whispering to each other. She knew they were probably talking about the ball that would happen tonight, celebrating Prince Edward's and Princess Cassandra's wedding tomorrow. Leona then heard more whispering. She heard the faint word "missing", which confused her. As a small pack of boys ran past her, she heard one yell, "Did you hear? Prince Edmund is missing!"

Leona was startled by the news. She looked up at the merchant.

"Is Prince Edmund really missing?" Leona asked the older woman, though, she felt sorta silly, this woman might know nothing about this matter.

"Oh yes. It seems he's been missing for almost a week," the woman answered. Leona couldn't help, but, break into a smile. The rude prince deserved whatever he had gotten him self into. With the smile still on her face, Leona went back to looking at what the merchant was selling.

As Leona was looking at a glass rose necklace, she heard someone call her name. She looked around, but saw no one. Leona shrugged and went back to looking.

"Leona!" She heard it again. She turned and squinted into the distance, barely seeing Amelia. Leona waved and walked towards her. As Amelia got closer, Leona saw her face was in distress and her clothes were covered in something black. When Amelia got to Leona, she was breathing hard. Tears were running down her face and she seemed to be trying to tell Leona something.

"Amelia, calm down. Breath first, then tell me what is wrong," Leona commanded, her hand on her friend's back, trying to comfort her. Amelia shook her head and started coughing.

"The Inn..." Amelia finally choked out. Leona gave her a puzzled looked. She would have asked her what was wrong with the Inn, but, she didn't want her trying to talk when she was in this condition. After a few minutes of breathing, Amelia was able to speak again.

"Leona... they set the Inn... on _fire,_" Amelia said, trying not to burst into tears again. Leona eyes opened wide.

"W-What? What's going on, Amelia? Is everyone alright?" Leona grabbed Amelia's shoulders, needing to know the answers to these questions.

"I'm... not really sure. But, they have your father and Gavin... I'm not sure about everyone else." With that said, Leona pushed her basket into Amelia's hands and raced off towards the Inn.

–

Despite his struggling, Gavin was being dragged along by the guards. The Inn behind him was up in smoke, people still piling out of it. Guests of the Inn and employees were rushed out by guards.

"Let me go! I don't even know what you guys are talking about!" Gavin yelled for the fifth time. He looked over at his father, who was unconscious. But Gavin wasn't going to go down without a fight. He started kicking and moving around, trying to hit one of them, or at least get free.

"Keep still, boy!" one of the guards shouted at him. Gavin was pretty sure that this guard was probably only a few years older than him and had no right calling him a "boy"- he _was_ eighteen after all. Gavin didn't stop struggling though. Thankfully, Juliet and Tabitha already got away, through the gate. Going to the Purple Forest wasn't the safest place, but, it was better than being taken to who knows where.

And, it would seem that it was correct for them to get away, since King Tobias thinks their family has kidnapped Prince Edmund. Gavin can't understand why he would think that. Their family hasn't ever done anything illegal and they love King Tobias, or, they did. Gavin gave one last struggle before giving up. There was just too many guards. The guards seemed to like that Gavin wasn't giving them any more trouble and headed for the carriage where they put his father.

Then, Gavin thought of something. Trying to remember the words, Gavin muttered a spell under his breath. Hopefully, this will work, unlike all those other times he tried it. Gavin took a deep breath, looked up to the guard at his left, and breathed fire into his face. The man screamed, letting go of him. Gavin took this chance to kick the other guard in the groin, making his right side free. Freedom was a wonderful thing and Gavin immediately took off in the direction of the nearest gate.

–

Leona pushed passed people as she desperately tried to get to the Inn faster. She could see smoke from where she was and she was sure should would smell it soon. Why would someone do this? What was going on? But, more importantly, she needed to know if everyone was okay. Leona knew she should have asked Amelia more questions, but, she just _needed _to get to the Inn.

When she finally saw the Inn, though, it was more of a flame now, and a crowd that was around it, Leona felt as tired as Amelia looked. She was holding on to her knees, breathing hard. She wanted to run up to the Inn, demand what the hell was going on, bang some heads in, and then cry for her wonderful Inn that has been her home since she was born. But, all she could do now was try to catch her breath and try not let the tears flow until she got into a fight with the idiot that had done this.

When Leona felt confident enough that she could breath normally again, she stood up straight and took a step forward... only to be pulled back. Leona turned around sharply, ready to attack the person that grabbed her, until she saw who it was. Sir Knight Sean. Except, he didn't look very much like a knight at the moment. He was covered in a dark blue cloak, his face covered by the darkness of the hood. If Sean wasn't this close to her, she would have probably never noticed it was him.

Leona opened her mouth, but, closed it when Sean pressed a finger to his lips, silencing her. His eyes drifted to his left and then to his right. Leona looked around, just now seeing guards everywhere. Why hadn't she noticed them before? And, why were there so many guards? Leona was even more confused than before.

Sean, still having a hold of Leona's arm, pulled her away from the burning Inn and towards a more populated area. Leona was practically being dragged, not wanting to leave her Inn since she was so close now, but, she finally gave up the idea and walked along beside him, his hand letting go of her arm; she missed the warmth though.

Sean went into an ally way, Leona followed. Once they were completely alone, Leona started to ask questions nonstop.

"What's going on? Who set my Inn on fire? Where is my family? What is with all the guards? What's going _on_?" Leona almost shouted at him. His expression was calm, which wasn't what Leona was going at here. She wanted her questions answered. After about a minute of silence, Leona was ready to go running back to the Inn, but then Sean spoke.

"Have you heard about Prince Edmund being missing?" he asked. Leona nodded. "Well, King Tobias thinks your family was involved." Leona's face twisted into a look of a mixture of confusion and disgust.

"_Why?_" Leona asked. Sean simply shook his head.

"We don't have time for me to explain. You must get out of the city-"

"But my family-"

"Your siblings have escaped."

"And my father?" Sean only shook his head.

"I can't just leave him here!" Leona jerked away from him. But, Sean pulled her back, her face inches from his. Leona found it hard to breath with him so close to her.

"You can't help him if the guards get you first."

"But, can't you-"

"I'm not the king, I'm simply a knight. As I was saying, you won't be any help to him if you get captured too. You must find Prince Edmund and bring him back to the castle, that's the only way to clear your names," Sean said.

"B-But, where would I-"

"The king thinks he's in the Purple Forest. I'm almost positive he is there as well." Leona would have questioned him, but, felt she couldn't with how close they were. Finally, Sean released her and leaned back. Leona let out some air she apparently was holding in.

"Also, here, take this." Sean fumbled around with a sash across his chest. Finally, he decided to just it off by pulling it over his head- which look extremely funny when he still had the cloak on. Leona suppressed a giggle. Sean finally handed Leona a sword. It was in a leather scabbard, so, she couldn't really see the whole sword. When she had the full weight of it in her hands, she almost fell forward; it was _really _heavy. With all her strength, she put it over her head and put the sash over her chest, which the scabbard was attached to.

"It's for protection," Sean explained before Leona could asked. Sean then grabbed Leona's elbow and pulled her forward, since, she looked to leaning back from the weight of the sword. Leona found little help the sword would bring if she could barely hold it up, let alone stand with is on her back. Next, Sean untied the cloak from his neck and put it around Leona, tying it around hers, making Leona blush.

"So you can stay hidden until you get to the forest," Sean said in her ear. A shiver went down Leona's spine.

"What about you?" Leona whispered, not being able to speak any louder. Sean leaned away and a smirk appeared on his face; the same smirk from two weeks ago.

"I'm supposed to be here, I _am _a knight. I just couldn't be seen helping the enemy," Sean said, with a wink. Leona nodded slowly, her face red. Silence passed over them for a few seconds.

"I should get going. I wish you luck finding Prince Edmund," Sean said with smile, walking out of the ally. Leona bit her lip, untied her hair, put it back up, and pulled the hood on.

–

Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard to get out of the city. Though, her walk to the gates was nerve wracking. With the hood on her, she felt she stuck out more than she blended in; she didn't know how Sean had gone unnoticed.

Her paranoia didn't help either. Every second, she felt like a guard would come stomping up to her. And, it seemed, they were looking for her. She couldn't understand how she had missed all these guards and how the guards had missed _her_ while she was running to the Inn.

Finally, she arrived at the gate. It was closed, like almost always, but, the wood was stacked apart, leaving enough room for her to squeeze through; it _was _only used to keep the mythical creatures out. But, the hard part was that she had to do this unnoticed. Thankfully, no guards were around, and Leona cared little what the villagers thought of this.

She then ran into the forest. She wasn't sure how far she should go, but, at the moment, she just looked forward. The trees were a such full of lush and the ground was soft every time stepped on to it. Birds were singing, it still being morning after all.

Leona stopped when she came to a stream. She brushed off some dirt off of a moss covered rock and sat down. She looked around the forest. It was peaceful, with the sun shining through small holes of the leaves of the trees. Leona couldn't understand who this place could actually be dangerous. It seemed nice enough. But, then again, she hadn't encountered any creatures yet.

She felt she was deep enough in the forest to relax for a few minutes. She untied the cloak and set it in her lap, then she pulled the sash off and layed the sword in her lap as well. Leona grabbed the hilt and pulled the sword out of the leather scabbard. With both hands grasping the hilt of the sword, it still felt heavy. Though, to her surprise, the sword was rather skinny. Very long though, probably from the ground to a little more than half way up her leg.

It really was a beautiful sword. The hilt was black, with leather lacing around it. At the top of the hilt there was a large ruby. When Leona moved the sword slightly, moving the ruby under the light, making it sparkle. Leona smiled. Sean had good taste in swords. Then, suddenly, the ruby started glowing. Leona jumped up out of shock, the sword and cloak falling to the ground.

Leona waited a few moments for the glowing to stop, but, it never did. Leona then bent down and grabbed it with both hands, pulling it up with all her strength... which almost made her fling the sword into her face. Leona jerked back, eyes wide, and dropped it again. This time, when Leona went to pick it up, she used only one hand and pulled it up from the ground slightly. It came up with ease.

"How strange," Leona muttered. It seems that the sword has gotten lighter. Leona then wondered if this sword was magical, it _was _glowing and it _did _get lighter all of a sudden. Maybe it shots fire balls, or freezes people! Leona thought, excitedly. But, to her disappointment, if the sword really _did _do that, she couldn't figure out how it worked.

Leona gave up trying when she heard some brushes moving behind her. Leona looked around to see Gavin standing there, with Juliet and Tabitha behind him.

"Leona!" Juliet shrieked, running over to hug her sister. Tabitha did the same.

"Glad to see you weren't captured," Gavin smiled, walking over to the reunion. But, then, seeing the sword, Gavin frowned.

"Where did you get a sword?" he asked.

"It's very pretty," Juliet said, picking it up. Leona watched her do this with ease, the ruby still glowing. Leona then faced Gavin, a stern look on her face.

"We have _a lot _to discuss."

–

A _month_? _Seriously_? Well, I blame this chapter being so late on procrastination and my resent addiction to Hetalia fanfiction. ._. Though, I _promise _the next chapter will be out faster than this one was. It might be shorter though. :\ So, hoped you enjoyed my very late chapter. :3 REVIEW PLEASE.


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